Early diagnosis of ovarian cancer.

Ovarian cancer is the most common fatal gynecologic malignant disease. Unfortunately 60% to 70% of patients present initially with advanced disease. Progress in the treatment of this condition will be made only if it can be diagnosed early. Pelvic examination is still the best screening test despite attempts to make an early diagnosis with the use of cytology, ultrasonography, and serum determinations for fibrin degradation product; haptoglobin, protein-bound fucose and tumour-associated antigens. The best prospect for a screening test for ovarian cancer probably lies in the field of tumour immunology.